Drennan is a surname alleged to be of multiple distinct origins. Variations of the name are found primarily in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, however, Irish and Scottish families of this name may not necessarily be related. The surname is purportedly derived from the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

Ó Droighneáin Ó Droighneáin, Gaelic-Irish surname. Background Ó Droighneáin was a surname of at least two different septs, located in Counties Cork and Galway, but has been 'translated' as Thornton (surname), Thornton, an English surname. "

hornton Hornton is a village and civil parish about northwest of Banbury in Oxfordshire. Churches The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist are the nave and the arcade of the north aisle, both of which were bu ...

is a ...

, Ó Draighnáin, or Ua Draighnen, meaning "descendant of Draighnen", or "descendant of blackthorn". Variant spellings include Drennen, Drenning, Drennon, Drinan, Drinnan, Drinnon, and Drynan. Thornton is another Anglicized surname from the same original Gaelic form.

Background

The Irish Uí Draighnáins, a descendant

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

of the dynasty of

Uí Maine U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pro ...

, specifically claiming descent from the Síol Anmchadha branch, were chiefs of the country lying around Sliabh Eisi, on the borders of County Clare and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. They were formerly hereditary chief Brehons or judges of the principalities of Hy-Many and Hy-Fiachra Aidhne, in South

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

, and had their chief residence at a place called Ard-na-Cno, in the parish of Killiny, and barony of Kiltartan, as we are informed in the

Book of Lecan The (Great) Book of Lecan (Irish: ''Leabhar (Mór) Leacáin'') (RIA, MS 23 P 2) is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418 in Castle Forbes, Lecan (Lackan, Leckan; Irish ''Leacán''), in the territory of Tír Fhíacrach, nea ...

: "To the Aes Brengair belongs the stewardship of the arch-chief of Hy-Many, and it is the office of the Ui-Draighnen to distribute justice to the tribes."

Further Information

According to statistics cited by

Patrick Hanks Patrick Hanks (born 24 March 1940) is an English lexicographer, corpus linguist, and onomastician. He has edited dictionaries of general language, as well as dictionaries of personal names. Background Hanks was educated at Ardingly College, ...

, 1,113 people on the island of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and 592 on the island of

bore the surname Drennan in 2011. In 1881 there were 404 people with the surname in Great Britain, primarily at Renfrewshire,

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. In mid-19th-century Ireland, people with the surname Drennan were found mainly at

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

and

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

. The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

found 4,233 people with the surname Drennan, making it the 7,821st-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase in absolute numbers, but a decrease in relative frequency, from 3,927 (7,811th-most-common) in the 2000 Census.

Notable people

Alexander Drennan Alexander Drennan (16 December 1899 – 9 November 1971) was a New Zealand labourer, trade unionist, communist and watersider. He was born in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, countr ...

(1899–1971), New Zealand labourer, trade unionist, communist and watersider *

Alexander Murray Drennan Alexander Murray Drennan FRSE FRCPE (4 January 1884 – 29 February 1984) was a Scottish pathologist. In the First World War, he promoted the widespread use of Edinburgh University Solution (sold under the brand name of Eusol). A keen yachtsm ...

(1884–1984), Scottish pathologist *

America McCutchen Drennan America McCutchen Drennan (also, America McCutchen Witherspoon; July 23, 1830 – June 26, 1903) was an American educator and pioneer missionary to Japan. She did not acquire the Japanese language, and from the beginning of her career as a mission ...

(1830–1903), American educator and missionary *

Anthony Drennan Anthony "Anto" Drennan (born on 1 November 1958) is an English-born Irish guitarist noted for his involvement with the Corrs, Genesis and Mike + the Mechanics among others. Drennan is from a musical Irish family and was born in Luton, England ...

(born 1958), Irish guitarist * Bruce Drennan (born 1950), American sports announcer * Bryce W. Drennan (born 1963), American writer *

Cathy Drennan Catherine (Cathy) Drennan is an American biochemist and crystallographer. She is the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Biochemistry professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a professor at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute ...

(), American professor of chemistry and biology *

Charles Drennan Charles Edward Drennan (born 23 August 1960 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand Bishop. He was the second Bishop of Palmerston North, New Zealand, from 2012 to 2019. On 4 October 2019 he resigned his position. Two allegations of ...

(born 1960), New Zealand Roman Catholic bishop * Ellie Drennan (born 1998), Australian singer-songwriter * John Drennan, Irish journalist and writer *

John Drennan (cricketer) John Drennan (born 13 November 1932) is a former first-class cricketer for South Australia. He toured New Zealand and South Africa with the Australian team but did not play Test cricket. Early career A tall fast-medium bowler, able to swing th ...

(born 1932), Australian cricketer *

John Cherry Drennan John Cherry Drennan JP DL (born 1899 died 1983) was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland. Drennan studied at Foyle College before working as a farmer in the Limavady area. He became active in the Ulster Unionist Party, and served for it in ...

(1899–1983), Northern Ireland politician *

John Swanwick Drennan John Swanwick Drennan (1809–1893) was an Irish poet. Drennan was a son of William Drennan and a grandson of Thomas Drennan, minister of the First Presbyterian Church, Belfast. He had an elder brother, William Drennan (1802–73). His poems, ' ...

(1809–1893), Irish poet *

Kathryn M. Drennan Kathryn M. Drennan is an American writer, having worked for Carl Sagan on the mini-series '' Cosmos: A Personal Voyage'' in the early 1980s and for Michael Piller, producer at the time for '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', in the early 1990s. ...

(), American writer *

Keity Drennan Keity Drennan Britton (born 24 July 1990) is a Panamanian model and beauty pageant titleholder who the winner of the Miss International Panamá 2011 and Miss Panamá 2016 title. She also participated in Miss Panamá 2011 where she won the titl ...

(born 1990), Panamanian model *

Mandy Drennan Amanda 'Mandy' Drennan (born 22 May 1988 in Cowes, Victoria ) Information on past Australian Paralympic Games results and profiles on Australian athletes and staff attending the Athens Paralympic Games. is a Paralympic swimming competitor from ...

(born 1988), Australian Paralympic swimmer *

Mark Drennan Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

(born 1972), American politician from West Virginia *

Martin Drennan Martin Drennan (2 January 1944 – 26 November 2022) was an Irish Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Kilfenora. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 29 July 2016. Drenna ...

(1944-2022), Irish Roman Catholic bishop * Michael Drennan (born 1994) Irish professional footballer * Robert Drennan (), American archaeologist * Samuel Drennan (1819–1882), Irish-born merchant and politician in Ontario, Canada * Thomas Drennan (1696–1768), Irish Presbyterian minister * Thomas J. Drennan (1877–1928), New York City Fire Commissioner * William Drennan (1754–1820), Irish poet *

William Melville Drennan William Melville Drennan (November 15, 1853 – May 28, 1900) was a merchant and politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as mayor of Kingston from 1890 to 1891. The son of Samuel Trangott Drennan, a native of Ireland, he was born in Kingston. ...

(1853–1900), merchant and politician in Ontario, Canada

References

{{surname, Drennan Surnames of Irish origin